


Connections

by NIghtsShadeWolfess



Series: Connections [1]
Category: Persona 2, Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series, Persona | Revelations Persona
Genre: Connections AU, Happy Ending, Multi, P5 Flower Child AU, lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-12-25 20:44:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18269057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NIghtsShadeWolfess/pseuds/NIghtsShadeWolfess
Summary: Through our Connections to one another, we delicate mortals defy the strings of fate and forge our own path. Through the Connections the Wildcards and Champions of Philemon all share, the cogs of fate get caught up on little red strings and made to spin the directions that the owners so choose.This is the way that we change fate.





	1. Chapter 1

**_ XX, XX, 1996 _ **

When all is said and done, when the DEVA system lies quietly after such a long battle, even Naoya can't help a small sigh of relief. It's over, it's finally over and he swears he's never been so simultaneously exhausted and fulfilled. The other students of St. Hermelin who were involved in the incident heave sighs of relief and the group returns to their own world after receiving many thanks from the Ideal Maki. 

Except for Naoya. Not immediately anyway. 

When he's supposed to be returned to his world, the real world, he instead finds himself in a strange room made of velvet that he's visited many times before. Philemon is the one to greet him. "Many thanks to my Champion," the pseudo-god tells him with a grin and Naoya feels a small burst of pride join his overwhelming confusion. He remains silent as he waits for Philemon to continue. Philemon sees the confusion play out across Naoya's face but waits a moment before he continues, holding out his palm and waiting for a beautiful golden butterfly to form. 

"You have defeated Nyarlathotep. For now, my other half has retreated deeper into the mortal soul to plan out his next move a bit more thoroughly. His deeds are not done with, however. There will come a time when a new Champion must take the reigns. Unfortunately, they are bound for misery despite the kindness and purity of their heart. This misery, though unknown by the end of the story, will seep deeply into the heart of those he touches and journies alongside. I cannot change his fate..." Philemon trails off, approaching a little closer to Naoya.

The butterfly that sits in the palm of the man flutters gently and a spray of shimmery dust flies off of its wings. It leaps from the palm of the man and takes up a spot on Naoya's shoulder. The boy flinches but doesn't recoil. Butterflies are the mark of Philemon, they've never hurt him before. It's only the sudden movement that really startles him.

"You, however, might just be able to redirect his fate. Humanity has shown me again and again that it can defy the rules set forth by the gods you yourself created. Perhaps there will be nothing that can be done for this boy when his time comes, but I would appreciate if you could at least try. You shifted your own fate, didn't you? Humans are such marvelous creatures. They can decide for themselves how they wish for the world around them to look. Perhaps this new Champion with a little prompting will be able to do the same?" 

There's a genuine kind of worry in the eyes of Philemon. He who represents the Super Ego and bears such a damnable hatred for his opposite, Naoya feels his chest tighten slightly and he feels compelled to offer his aid. Admittedly, he doesn't know if anything he can do will actually help, but maybe, just maybe the first Champion can do something to help the others. Give fate a shove in a little brighter a direction.

"Alright Philemon, I'll help," Naoya says and he watches the expression of the pseudo-god practically light up. The spot where the butterfly is sitting suddenly starts to sting and Naoya grits his teeth as he glances towards his shoulder. Without warning the butterfly has begun to melt into his skin. He hears his Persona loud and clear, crying out joyfully because sometimes the Shadow knows things that the host doesn't. Understands the world on a deeper level. He doesn't regret his choice but as the small insect settles and becomes a piece of his very being he thinks the pain is unbearable.

Then he blinks and suddenly the pain is gone. 

"My gift," Philemon says, "to my first beloved Champion of many. I give to you a small piece of myself so that you may hold my knowledge and understand the way of the world. I give you this piece in trust that you will use it to safeguard humanity and its future. With it, comes the ability to see the lines of fate. On every person who has their fate bound to the Velvet Room and the path of a Persona user, you will find a butterfly mark on their body. No matter what, even through clothing, it will always be visible to you. The butterfly itself shall show you details regarding their fate."

With that, Naoya is dismissed from Philemon's sight and returns to his friends as though no time had passed. True to his words, butterflies mark the bodies of all his friends. All of them wear beautiful white and grey butterflies. Well, except for Yukino. The butterfly pressed to her left shoulder blade is half white and grey like the rest of the group while the other half is a deep red and black. Almost like blood, slightly browning. Kei and Eriko have small droplets of a similar color, but it isn't as pronounced. 

Perhaps it's reflective of who would be directly interacting with the next group? Glancing at his palm Naoya noticed the butterfly attached to his own form. White and grey like the rest of his group, but it's outlined with a golden glow. Perhaps that was the differentiation between teammates and Champion? Each of his friends held their own unique patterns in addition to the general color scheme, different breeds of butterflies with different wing types sitting spattered across them all.

It was going to be hard trying to interpret, but the small voice in his head who's tone had become a little more like Philemon supplied him with ideas and details that he wasn't supposed to know. Not just details on the butterflies, but it noticed little things about the world he hadn't quite taken notice of before. This was going to be tough, but he was up for the challenge. Especially since changing the cogs of fate also seemed like it might be really fun.

 

_**XX, XX, 1998** _

Naoya was never quite sure what to do with his life so he spent a lot of time wandering. Doing odd jobs was an easy enough way to support himself and if worst came to worst Kei would let him crash on his couch. All of his friends had mellowed out and were more than willing to take care of one another. The group had become close thanks to the whole fighting demons and nearly dying experience. They continued to grow closer as the years progressed. Bonds forged in such a situation weren't easily broken off after all.

Kei still tried to act all hoity-toity because it was Kei. Since he was going to be the number one man in all of Japan it would be an insult to him if he allowed one of his associates to sleep on the street so yeah, sure, Naoya could use his guest room while the other guy was in town. Translated into normal human speech it roughly means that Naoya was still a friend so Kei would put him up for a night or two while he looked for work and a hotel room.

Easier said than done sometimes. Naoya didn't quite fit anywhere because of his new ability. Not only could he see butterflies, but he could see other markers and indicators of fate. It was hard to ignore and sometimes he went on wild goose chases just following the lines of fate as they were drawn between people. He thinks that he almost ended up on a charity mission... Sitting around in the park just relaxing almost feels too mundane in comparison. 

Just as he's about to start heading back he perked up slightly, catching sight of a red and black butterfly with a golden outline. A very tired looking boy plopped himself down on the bench right next to Naoya, looking like he'd just spent the entire day working. He smelled like oil and the calluses on his hands were indicative of something though he couldn't say what. Jackpot, Naoya thought to himself as he glanced towards the other boy. He looked to be about 2 years younger than Naoya, so he was probably 17ish. 

"Really looks like life chewed you up and spit you out today," Naoya said with a slight grin. He wasn't the most talkative in his group of friends. He'd gotten better. His friends couldn't jokingly call him a 'silent protagonist' anymore, but it was still hard trying to strike up a casual/not casual conversation with a total stranger who he was somehow supposed to impart delicate life advice to that could change fate itself within the span of a couple of minutes. Assuming this boy didn't just look at him like a mad man and walk away because Naoya is a random stranger on a park bench at that moment, not an elder Champion with words of wisdom. 

Tatsuya for his part glances towards Naoya with an open expression. He seems to internally debate something for a long moment before sighing. "I just miss my best friend. He got transferred to a different school not too long ago and the school I go to absolutely sucks without him around." Tatsuya himself isn't sure why he opens up to this stranger, but the pair both feel the same resonance with one another. An equality and a kinship. They are, after all, fairly the same. 

Naoya nods quietly, picking his words carefully. After a short moment of silence, he finally responds. "There is nothing in this life, not even death, that can break the bonds we form with one another. Not distance, not time, and certainly not a school transfer. If you really care about this boy then just make sure you keep in touch. Even if fate wants to deny you, you'll eventually find your way back to one another. Never let her have her way with you."

"Her?" 

"Yeah, fate," Naoya smirks and shakes his head slightly. "Fate is a mess, mean and crass. She'll tear apart everything you love if you aren't careful. But she's not as all-powerful as people make her out to be. Neither are the gods if you know how hard to punch them in the face. Keep at it kid, never let her or her cronies have their way with you. You'll earn your happily ever after," Naoya realizes how crazy he sounds only after he's finished his little speech and he can fell his Persona internally cringe. Amen Ra can't decide if he should laugh or cry and Naoya has to agree. 

For a member of the Emperor Arcana, he sure feels like a putz lacking the tact of an authority figure. 

Tatsuya, however, carefully contemplates those words for a moment. Naoya sees something, a flicker, a small light, an understand perhaps? Whatever it is, Tatsuya's expression becomes a little lighter moments later and he smiles at Naoya. "You're strange, but I think I needed to hear that. I'll remember your words." Tatsuya stands up and leaves with what seems to be a kind of resolution in his step. He pulls out a lighter and begins to flick it open and closed, a strength existing in the way that he squares his shoulders. 

Naoya isn't sure, but he thinks he did good.

 

_**XX, XX, 1999** _

Tatsuya grits his teeth, sharply feeling the injustice of the situation. His body aches and he knows that this is his last chance. They're already onto the second version of the world. The one that Philemon designed in exchange for the memories of his friends. There's a fire in his stomach as he comes to a realization, glaring down the crawling chaos. "You would have caused this mess if we remembered or not, wouldn't you!? It was never on us, Jun was irrelevant to your plans, he was just the easy target. My memories aren't at fault here, you would have caused this anyway!" 

The back of his throat tastes like bile and metal and Nyarlathotep actually smiles and laughs. "Of course. As long as humanity so wishes it I will bring them the destruction they desire. One way or another. I would have destroyed this world one way or another. It would have been so much faster too if you hadn't remembered. So I guess these idiots actually have you to thank for being able to at least stand here and face me on their feet," the crawling chaos drawls, it's tone bored. 

Philemon looks scandalized and betrayed like this outcome was entirely unexpected. 

"Fortunately for me, you've made a couple of wrong choices and allowed for your friends to remember the first world. Which means that everyone will once again return to that one," Nyarlathotep looks like he wants the whole thing to be done already. He's patting himself on the back internally like it's a job well done. Tatsuya is seething. He feels his brother's hand on his shoulder, feels the strength of his friends. 

Jun, Lisa, and Ekichi. Philemon sent them all away after the group of warriors had saved them. Tatsuya wonders where they went. If they're safe. If they'll be happy when this fight is over. He sees Maya rub at the bruise on her chest out of the corner of his eye, looking uncomfortable. Her composure shatters for half a second and he can see genuine fear in her eyes. He'd be scared too if he thought he might drop dead at any second because his friends remembered everything. 

"No, I refuse," he says without his brain first consulting his mouth. The words come from somewhere very deep, and for a moment he thinks those words come from Apollo. They're rough when they leave his throat, they burn like acid with a tone of _rebellion_ and they ignite a fire in his chest while his heart starts to flutter like a trapped bird. He'll _die_ here, but he'll die standing.

"No?" The creature asks with a look of amusement that masks his confusion. Philemon glances towards Tatsuya and for the barest hint of a second, he swears he sees the pseudo-god smirk. 

"No. I'm not going to let either world disappear. We deserve a happy ending. So I'm going to make both of the worlds into one world! Then we're all going to live happily ever after because I said so damn it!" Tatsuya screams, louder than he thinks he's ever spoken and he can feel the pride roll off Katsuya in waves as his older brother stands beside him. The rest of the group comes forward as well, eyes glinting ferociously. The last resort.

"The two worlds are going to become one and we're all going to live happily ever after!" Katsuya repeats Tatsuya's words more simply but he says them with an authority of command. That is the rumor they've spread, their final rumor, all Tatsuya can do is hope. 

"Then perish for that dream," the crawling chaos says. He sheds his appearance that up until then had been so like Tatsuya and he truly becomes a monster reminiscent of his namesake. The creature attacks them, howling out the same lines as the very first world when Tatsuya stood with his other friends against this beast. He stands fearless now, knowing the _truth_.

"You, Nyarlathotep, are the shadow. The reflection of the human Id. The dark instinctual desire based self that lurks underneath the surface of every human being. But you are a creature who can be controlled by the Superego, the Persona, a something that is subservient to the Ego. Perhaps you might exist within each of us, but you aren't everything that there is! You aren't a whole person! You are a fragment and a caricature of our darkest selves and you have no right to decide what our damn 'true self' is! Perhaps the Id wishes for death, but the Id is only a portion of a person and never the full image, so how can you say what the wishes of humanity as a whole are? You don't see the full soul!" Tatsuya's response is shattering and suddenly the crawling chaos isn't immortal.

Suddenly he's beatable. 

There's truth to the words of the boy. Nyarlathotep knows the thoughts and desires of the Id, the desire for all of humanity to be destroyed, but it's only a portion of the full human psyche. It's only the dark portion. There's still the ideal and the innocent, there are so many fragments that make up a human that who's to actually say what their deepest wish is? 

Nyarlathotep concedes. 

It's a long and painful fight, but no one dies, they actually win. The world shivers for a moment, and then suddenly Tatsuya feels aligned in a strange way. Suddenly he feels very whole and sound as a person, calm and relaxed and at peace. 

"Just as you said, the two worlds have become one," Philemon says, sounding at least vaguely proud of the group. There's a smile on his expression. "Only those of you with Personas shall be aware of what happened, shall be aware of both sets of memories. It will be the task of humanity to subconsciously pick and choose what paths they followed considering the changes this story is now subject to. However, that is a task for the rest of humanity to fuddle through in due time. The rest of you may consciously pick what paths you wish to follow. From now forward, you're all free," Philemon's smile is brilliant and proud and happy. 

"Should the world ever need you again, I leave you with access to your Personas. Those of you with the right shall also maintain access to the Velvet Room as well as Igor. Feel free to visit him whenever you wish. I will leave the Velvet Room henceforth in his hands and retreat back into the sea of souls along with my brother. There will be other gods who attempt to do what he has today, but I have little fear for humanity seeing what you all were able to accomplish. Be brave, children of man, for fate belongs to your discretion!" 

The words of Philemon echo what Naoya said so long ago, Tatsuya can't help but quietly smile and come to the realization. He'll have to give the older Champion his thanks when he gets the chance. For now, he needs to go find his boyfriend to make sure that his boyfriend is still his boyfriend and if he is, thank god because Tatsuya missed him painfully during all of that mess! 

The group returns to their homes, happy knowing that they've won themselves a brighter future. 

 

_**XX, XX, 2004** _

Jun hummed quietly while he grades the papers scattered across the dining room table. Getting a bachelors degree was far from hard and the moment he had it he jumped right into teaching. Perhaps it was a desire his second world self had, but the idea had resonated with Jun deeply even after his memories finished reconciling themselves. 

Of course, Jun was Jun and teaching wasn't the only thing he was good at. In his free time, he invented, creating whatever he pleased. He'd patented enough creations that he and Tatsuya could live together fairly comfortably. Tatsuya also had a steady income as a police officer for the area. They lived comfortably. Comfortably enough that maybe their family had room for one more? 

"Did the papers go through yet?" His partner asked while he himself powered through some of the more typical paperwork. It had become a nightly routine that the two would sit together and work on papers in one another's company. It was a shame they couldn't get married. Not legally anyway, but their friends had held a ceremony for them in spite of that. It wasn't official in legal terms, but they didn't seem to care. They called each other husband and wore wedding rings. They'd even both legally had their last name changed. It was a combination of both their last names, as well a homage to Jun's first world last name. Kurusu. Jun had adored the idea the moment Tatsuya came up with it. 

The papers that Jun's beloved was currently referencing were adoption papers. Jun sighed and nodded. "I'll be getting full custody of him any day now. It's a bit sad though, the orphanage couldn't wait to be rid of him! I wonder what his birth parents were even like..." Apparently, whoever they were they'd died, leaving the child in state custody where he was treated very poorly thanks to whispers and rumor about who his parents _might_ have been. Jun found him on the street, hungry and dirty and begging for attention. The soft-hearted Jun fell in love and when he brought the child home Tatsuya really wasn't going to disagree. 

The fact it was rumors that drove others to treat the child so poorly had really hit the pair. After learning that details there wasn't any question that they'd be taking him. 

"Poor Akira. He'll be taken care of here. After all, we both know what it's like to have unfriendly homes. I'm sure we can do better," Tatsuya gave his partner his most reassuring smile as he reached out his hand across the table. Jun instantly took it and offered up a gentle smile in return. 

It was a bit of a hassle trying to actually get the child. Jun technically being 'single' by legal standards and a man really didn't help with that. Tatsuya wasn't officially married to Jun so he couldn't officially be Akira's guardian even if the papers did eventually go through. On top of that, Jun usually got some weird looks because of the way he dressed. He tended to dress and act as he pleased. For someone to be openly male and openly wear dresses and make-up, it tended to freak a couple of people out. But Jun had such a gentle nature and by all means a beautiful face, he usually won people over quickly enough and if he really had to make a good impression he looked stunning no matter what he wore. He just decided that he liked to wear whatever he pleased, be it masculine or feminine clothing.

Tatsuya wore typically masculine clothing but only for the sheer fact it was more comfortable to him. That didn't stop him from applying make-up in the morning with Jun. Typical stuff like mascara and foundation. 

"How is everyone else doing lately?" Jun asks in order to try and take the pair's attention off darker topics. 

Tatsuya paused for a moment, his thoughts shifting to their friends as well as the older Persona users who had helped them through their troubles. "I heard the Baofu and Ulala are doing well. Apparently, he put his rumor site back up. He's been doing fairly well in his new line of work with Ulala's help, and you know she could punch out anyone if they managed to actually get in trouble. The rumor site has been actually fairly helpful in picking up leads, as well as dispelling harmful rumors. Things that are verified false usually get dropped by the public." 

After everything was said and done Baofu had taken down his rumor site. Unfortunately, a lot of copycats sprung up that were harmful because they spread malignant rumors. Baofu put his site back up with a focus on verifying and disproviding rumors as well as getting leads on the cases that didn't get to him. It turned out to be fairly helpful when people started offering up evidence (actual evidence) to prove or disprove certain rumors. 

Jun nodded before a memory suddenly hit him. "Oh, right! We can't forget to set some time off work for Maya and Katsuya's wedding next month!" He said. Tatsuya nodded as well, remembering how terrified his older brother had been to purpose. It was strange. At first it didn't seem like the two would work out but apparently, something happened behind the scenes and Maya had become totally smitten with Katsuya. Neither would say what happened, they'd only just wink mysteriously and grin.

"It's a shame Ekichi won't be able to attend though. I can understand why. He has the sushi place and Gas Chamber to worry about," the redhead continues as Jun pulls out a little calendar book to look at the date. "It was hard enough for Lisa to get time off work. I swear, she's been busier ever since she left the Muses. Irony at its finest. Her solo career has been doing astoundingly well, and her campaign to stand up for outcasts really endeared her to a lot of people. Using Ginko as her idol name was definitely a smart move." Tatsuya laughed slightly at the memory. 

When Lisa informed them she was starting a solo career as Ginko, Ekichi had nearly cried. Those two hated to admit it but they were really best friends, and both being prominent musicians helped to solidify that. Ekichi was doing well for himself too. His food was as famous as his music and his beloved wife Miyabi was the definition of loyalty. 

Then there were their older friends. 

"Naoya and Eriko should be getting married any day now too. I mean, they've been living together for months already and Naoya is practically Eriko's stay at home wife," the thought elicited a small laugh at the end of Jun's phrase. Eriko was a very well known and influential model who was slowly taking steps into the world of acting alongside Yukino whose photography had slowly turned into all things camera related including recording movies. The two had taken their first steps together and because of this they usually ended up working together a lot. Eriko's job paid well enough that she was able to support herself and her high school sweetheart who she'd finally worked up the guts to confess to.

Naoya, unable to really find a job where he belonged, was given a sum of money from all their friends and told to go do something useful like start a charity. Said charity had actually become fairly influential within the last couple of years. His friends continued to routinely donate when they had the extra money and it was a wildly trusted charity since Naoya had a harsh hand and embezzling funds from his charity was damn near impossible. 

"At least they're openly dating," Tatsuya huffed, rolling his eyes. "Kei and Yuka refuse to admit they're even dating despite everyone knowing that they are. Really, they could take some pointers from Maki and Masao. Those two at least try to be covert!" Yuka after embracing her natural talents for observation had actually started trying to school and currently did a lot of analytic work. Kei had taken the chance to snap her up for the Nanjo group because her skills and the two were unbearably close afterward.

It was painfully obvious that they were dating but they both refused to acknowledge it.

Maki and Masao were also obviously dating, but they were at least a little more cunning in hiding it than the other two. The therapist and the artist, after all, were together but they were really focused on perfecting their own skills. They cared for one another, that much was obvious enough, but Maki wanted to focus on helping others and Masao was determined to create a masterpiece before he truly settled down. It didn't stop them from occasionally being affectionate enough for the rest of the group to have noticed. 

That just left Hidehiko and Reiji, who were frankly the same as always. The charismatic fool with his talk show and the terrifying door to door knife salesman trying to provide for his wife and child. Hidehiko was wildly popular and liked to boast about everyone as much as he could at least. Reiji despite being absolutely terrifying had found it boosted his ability to sell to the right crowd. He was a knife salesman, if he found the right people then that intimidating aura was key to a good sale. 

The two best friends turned husbands continued to talk back and forth about their other friends.

For once, the future was bright. 


	2. Chapter 2

_**XX, XX, 2008** _

"I really wish I could have taken care of my cousin's longer instead of just shipping them off to some school," Naoya sighed. Tatsuya topped off his very alcoholic beverage as his good friend continued to sulk. Naoya's second cousins had been dropped on him by family after a very long game of hot potato following the death of the twin's parents. The death itself was something that had caught the attention of Naoya, not seeming necessarily 'natural' if any other Persona users wanted to catch his drift. 

In Naoya's own words each one had half of a butterfly printed on their palms. The butterfly halves were a deep very light skyish blue and were outlined in the shade of blue shared by the Velvet Room. However, each twin also had spatterings of black across the wings that left Naoya feeling deeply uncomfortable. Maya had promised to keep an eye on them since they play the same online game as she does, and there were a couple of other members of the group who could watch the area, but it still deeply upset Naoya. 

Tatsuya had paused at this description, his expression a little vexed. "Why do you think they only each had half of a butterfly?" Naoya had understood immediately. Or at least he thought he did anyway. He couldn't really blame Tatsuya for not having the same in-depth understanding though. 

"I think it probably has to do with something that happened when you guys made both versions of the world into one. It's rare, but sometimes one person doesn't exist in the same form between worlds if you get what I mean. The second world's version of this singular person was supposed to be Minato, while the old world had Minako. I'm pretty sure they have a singular soul," the elder Champion explained. Tatsuya tried to follow along as best as he could, understanding for the most part what his companion was trying to explain. 

"There's only so much either of us can do. We have to have faith in those two that they'll persevere. Besides, I don't think you could take care of children right now. You and Eriko just got married after all. Finally. Two months is pretty soon to start trying to take care of kids, let alone 16-year-olds. Speaking of which, why has Eriko gone radio silent on the when it comes to modeling? Something happen?" Tatsuya asked, only to realize his conversation partner was turning bright red. 

Naoya laughed nervously in referenced to his wife who had recently stepped away from modeling a couple of weeks prior to the marriage and wouldn't tell anyone why. "She's kind of maybe expecting," the black haired boy said with a sheepish grin.

"What!? Since when? You two have only been married for two months," Tatsuya's eyes bugged out for half a moment, trying to wrap his head around this. It admittedly did make a certain amount of sense. The two had been dating for years, they were practically already married long before the ceremony. That was more so for posterity and the legal rights that came with marriage. Still though!

"Three months... she's been expecting for three."

"But you've only been married for _Two_!"

"..."

"Naoya... you dog."

 

**_ XX, XX, 2008 _ **

Minato and Minako adjusted well to their lives as the field leaders for S.E.E.S. They got along well with their teammates and did what they could to take care of the whole group. Fate, however, was insistent in the way that it dragged the twins around, careless and cruel. That wouldn't really stop them though, not when they'd already caused small changes. No matter what, there was a quiet sense of hope shared between the two. 

"How's Shinji?" Minako asked while she tried to keep her voice from shivering. A certain redhead had sat down next to Minako, a look of worry on her expression. 

"Alive," was the only answer she managed to pull from Mitsuro. She pressed her body flush against the other girl's as she tried to ignore the sinking sensation that had dragged her heart down to her feet. She didn't use to feel her emotions this strongly, neither did Minato. Ever since Rouji was freed from the confines of their souls, however, the full expanse of their emotions had returned to them. It wasn't like the couldn't feel emotions before, but they were always muted and distant.

Once upon a time, Ryoji had taken the time to explain to them that the lack of emotional response was a byproduct of him feeding off of those emotions. They were what allowed him to create a human form. When he left them, he made himself into a human because of them. Because all the emotions and humanity they fed into him for 10 whole years. Minako couldn't even identify all the emotions that had elicited at the time. 

Minato who was the cool and reserved one had been distraught. Minako at least acted like she'd had emotions once, keeping up the bubbly and cheerful facade. It made it a little more natural. Flippant and emotionless Minato "I don't care" Arisato had suffered from the sudden emotional rush. 

Mitsuru hesitated for a moment before weaving her arm around the shoulder of the other girl. Minako needed physical contact. Needed to feel grounded. Her head was spinning and she already knew her fate. The fate that she and her brother would share because they shared a soul. They shared everything. Minako was all too aware of the fate that would befall the twins at the end of this journey. She could taste something acidic in the back of her throat while her breathing turned sharp. 

Was this fear?

Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes as she pushed her face into the side of the redhead. She's hopeful, her brother and her are both hopeful, but it doesn't stop the understanding that this is a kind of fate they can't change. There are certain things that just need to be done. Maybe eventually they'll get a happy ending, but no time soon and with no sense of certainty, and for that she's scared. 

"I'm scared, I'm so scared," she whimpers and she feels like she's six sitting in a hospital room with her older brother, trying to figure out what is the world is going on while her head spins and the word orphan gets tossed around. 

"it's okay. We're going to beat Nyx. We're all going to live and keep our promise," the older girl whispers in a breathy crackly voice. Mitsuru does a wonderful job keeping her tone calm and reassuring despite the fact that Minako can practically taste the fear rolling off of her. That was the one emotion that Minako could never feel what so ever, yet ironically it was the emotion she had the easiest time detecting on others. Probably thanks to the sentient embodiment of death living inside of her for 10 years. Death and fear were so synonymous for reasons she had trouble comprehending until now. 

Mitsuru strokes the younger girl's hair. Neither of them will mention this later. No one will ever talk about how they watched their field leader break down and cry. Mitsuru won't say a word the same way that Aigis still hasn't mentioned anything when she sat and stroked Minato's hair until he wore himself out the same way Minako is starting to now. 

It's not going to be okay, they aren't going to defeat Nyx because she can't be defeated. Minato and Minako can't beat her, but they can do something else. It would have been too easy to kill Ryoji and forget all of this ever happened. It would have been simple and painless, but it's too late for that and they wouldn't have been able to stomach it anyway.

The twins are Persona users. Wildcards. Champions hand picked by Philemon. They have their fate, immutable as it may be right now. Even though, isn't there still hope? Even after the darkest of storms, isn't there still hope. 

Minato and Minako are going to lose and for a time they're going to disappear from this world. The question then becomes a question their teammates must bear. Will they disappear forever, is there a happy ending yet? Once upon a time their second cousin had told them that all bad endings were temporary and could eventually be fixed with enough determination.

Minako hopes that her friends are determined. 

For now, she's alive and here so she presses her face into the body of her best friend and just cries. She doesn't want to face tomorrow. 

 

_**XX, XX, 2008** _

"You're friends were really distraught you know. Admittedly, I kinda am too," the boy laughs lightly as he looks up towards a pair of statues wrapped in barbed wire, set before a great door that should never be opened. He tugs off his scarf, carefully wrapping the yellow fabric around the necks of the pair. Death is cold, and any warmth will help them now. "I really did love the two of you. Now I can't even protect you in death because you aren't ever going to die."

There's a stinging in his eyes. So many emotions that he shouldn't be able to feel. He's a shadow, all he was ever supposed to be was a senseless Id. These two though, they gave him an Ego and somewhere along the way he became a person. Maybe not a complete person. He's still a shadow after all. But he's as much of a person as Elizabeth at this point. 

"Oh! That reminds me! I'm going to start using my Persona form to help out Elizabeth. We're going to travel the world in order to save you two. You worked so hard... don't you think that you guys deserve a happy ending too? Elizabeth certainly thinks so. She's so dedicated, so fierce. She's treated Aigis really well considering she is your heir. I think you really picked a good one to inherit your abilities. She took to them quickly and she's just as driven to protect people as the two of you were," he tries to keep the little droplets from falling but salty beads of water slowly slip from his eyes.

From the darkness appears a giant being. It ignores the boy completely, instead just reaching for the two statues. He waits, sighing, and eventually, the creature gives up and retreats for now. "To be honest... I kinda wish that everyone died. I would have made the two of you a king and a queen once we were back in the sea of souls. Far, far away from all the nasty human suffering. But you two really loved this world, and frankly, I'm kind of starting to understand why."

He runs his fingers along the statues. He can tell they're in pain, a lot of it. He can feel the way their souls twist and write, barely contained by stone flesh. Neither one is unhappy though. They seem to bear the burden proudly, and he can just imagine the expression either one would give him through the entire conversation. Can practically imagine her bubbly replies. Can practically imagine his muted tone. Can practically imagine how their eyes might both light up at the idea that they could still have lives if all things go well.

"Ever since Elizabeth left on her travels I've been seeing a lot of the world alongside her! Being her Persona is actually kind of fun. She's quite bubbly, I can see why you two liked her so much. That being said she's kind of like a hurricane... I'm just glad that whenever she doesn't need me I can come here and keep you two company. I know you can hear each other and hold actual conversations and what not, but I'm sure it would get lonely if it was just the two of you," he laughs thinking about how different the pair is. Left alone for eternity, they'd never find any common ground! 

"I've been thinking about trying a couple of ideas I had as well to free the pair of you. I wonder... do you think there's any chance I could convince Nyx to just ignore Erebus? Once upon a time, Tatsuya convinced the crawling chaos to back down, and he was much scarier than Nyx. Besides! I'm a piece of her, so I'm sure... I'm sure if anyone could convince her it would be her baby boy!" He pulled a face of disgust and rolled his eyes.

"I wonder if I'm actually her and Erebus' child or if that's just human legend. I don't really feel like I am anymore even if I was once upon a time. I just feel so... human I guess? Yeah, I'm still a deity who personifies death and drags souls to and from the sea of souls through their various incarnations, but I don't feel like it anymore. I blame you guys! You two are weird." He pouts and sticks his tongue out at the statues like they're gonna respond. A bittersweet smile claims his expression when he gets no response. 

He sighs and places a hand against his chest. "It looks like I'm gonna need to leave you guys again... Elizabeth is calling me. But guess what! We got in touch with your second cousin and he has a little insight into some ways that we might actually be able to help you guys! It's gonna take a while longer, so bear with me, but... we will save you and when you're free all of us can spend time together again. Sweet dreams you two, think of something happy! Minato, Minako, bye bye!"

Ryoji quickly obeyed the summons of his new master, leaving the twins once again alone. The air, however, felt a little lighter and the next time Erebus tried to break past the two it didn't hurt as much, a bright yellow scarf wrapped tightly around their necks.

 

**_ XX, XX, 2009 _ **

It had taken a while for the Shadow Operatives to get on their feet and be founded. It took even longer to get ahold of Naoya and Tatsuya in order to convince the older sets of Persona users to join. Naoya and Tatsuya's groups were obviously stronger than S.E.E.S but the younger group didn't seem all too intimidated. Right now, it was just Mitsuru, Elizabeth, Ryoji, Naoya, and Tatsuya in the relatively small meeting between teams. 

"Well, the first option is to just have a yearly 'beat the shit out of Erebus festival' but we should be thinking about something more long term, huh?" Naoya said. He smiled ruefully and Ryoji sighed with a nod. Elizabeth with his help could practically one-shot Erebus and it would take a whole year for him to reform. It would be easy for him and Elizabeth to just return every year in exchange for the freedom of her guests, but that wasn't good enough for everyone else. They thought it was too much of a risk to rely on Elizabeth's ability to beat Erebus senseless every year and the idea had been scrapped.

It was a bit more viable if there were three groups of Persona users willing to participate, but each group was still a little hesitant to settle on that as their 'grand plan'. Something a little more permanent would be helpful to all parties and while Ryoji and Elizabeth would do anything for their Wildcards both agreed to try and see if something else was a better option. 

"It might be possible to seal up Erebus instead of creating a seal around Nyx if we weaken it enough," Tatsuya offered up with a shrug. Weakening it would require taking away man kind's wish for death though and there was no telling how long that could take. If it was an achievable goal though that would put a stamp on the whole situation in a way where Minato and Minako could actually be freed.

"It seems that may be our only option," Elizabeth said with a nod, though Ryoji could detect the slightly mournful hint in her tone. No one looked too happy about it. Mitsuru, in fact, looked deeply frustrated and perhaps even regretful. 

"Very well. In that case, we'll start working towards the eradication of humanity's dark desire. I'm sure that the Keijo group can begin work towards some more humanitarian efforts after I've straightened out our research regarding shadows and Personas. I've gotten in touch with a woman named Wakaba who may very well provide us with some stunning breakthroughs. I will keep all of you updated as well, of course," Mitsuru said with a quick nod. Her voice had the ferocity of a goddess behind it, wrathful and full of power, and perhaps a future the twins could live in wasn't such a distant possibility.

"All the more reason to keep my charity running," Naoya said with a shrug of his shoulders. He had to take a step back for a couple of months while his child was born, but his wife had quickly returned to modeling afterward and Naoya was reduced back to 'stay at home dad' levels of being cared for by his rich, rich wife which allowed him plenty of time for his humanitarian works. 

Elizabeth also had a sort of ferocity in her gaze as she glanced towards Ryoji. "We will continue looking for other ways in which we can free my guests. There are various other leads I'd like to investigate! Perhaps once I've discovered the true meaning of the Wildcard we'll have a better understanding of how to go about this!" Ryoji had the feeling he was about to be worked like a damn dog, but he didn't really mind. 

It would kind of all be worth it in the end. 

The future was bright and within grasp. 

 

_**XX, XX, 2010** _

Jun hummed to himself as he finished organizing the new building. Things had been very, very active the past couple of months! That didn't bother him though. Tatsuya was the one who dealt with the Persona related topics, Jun was allowed to just stay at home and be Jun. 

Recently the couple had moved out to Inaba with their son. The town had been looking for more police recently and Tatsuya was wordlessly drawn to the place. Jun didn't question it at this point. After all, they'd been drawn towards Akira only for Naoya to inform them of the red and black butterfly on their child's neck. It was a much brighter red than the one belonging to them, and outline with the same blue as the Velvet Room. It scared Jun a little, but he found ways to cope. 

In particular, he liked to tell stories to Akira about their own journies as Persona users. He, of course, changed them to be more child-friendly but kept them similar enough that if (when) Akira got a Persona he might start to realize a couple of things. 

Akira loved those stories but one thing stuck out to Jun as terrifying and wonderful at the same time. Akira wanted to take the name Joker if he ever became a 'hero like in daddy's stories'. It had worried Jun at first because his own actions as Joker, but that was exactly why Akira wanted it. To redeem it. Jun had thought he'd been doing good with that name by granting the wishes of people. Akira wanted to actually help people with the name to make up for it. It wasn't a burden than a child should have to bear, but Jun knew Akira and he knew he wasn't going to be talking Akira out of it. 

Maybe things would turn out alright.

The one unfortunate thing about moving to Inaba was the fact they didn't need any more teachers. There were absolutely no positions for Jun to try and fill, which left him at a bit of a loss. He could still invent but he wanted to have people around. So, the only logical conclusion was to open a flower shop.

The local businesses all warned him that "Junes will just drive you out of business" but that was hogwash. The reason Junes was killing all the local business was that they didn't support one another. They didn't have loyalty to one another and instead decided to buy what was cheap and convenient. Jun would not be doing the same and his high-quality wide array of flowers combined with his encyclopedic understanding of all their detailed meanings meant that Jun was absolutely going to trounce that silly little chain with their five different flowers in various colors. 

Tatsuya laughed when he ended up being right. 

Neither one was sure what drew them to Inaba until one day a boy wandered into the shop. According to him, he'd recently come here to live with his uncle for a year while his parents were overseas. The silver-haired and silver-eyed boy had caught Jun's attention the moment he stumbled into the flower shop out of little more than curiosity. Jun's first thought was that this must be  _the one_.

Souji reminded Jun a lot of Tatsuya once the two started talking. 

"I'll tell you what, since you're new in town you'll probably need some work in order to get a little spending money. You can come here and work in the flower shop any time you please. It would also be wonderful to have someone to babysit Akira when I'm more distracted with other... obligations," Jun knows that he should really be helping out a little more with the Shadow Operatives. He got his bachelors in teaching, but his masters is in Physics because it's Jun. Despite how much he'd rather not talk about it, scientifically he's a fairly stunning genius. 

"Akira?" Souji asks. Right on time, the little boy comes into the flower shop. He stops when he sees Souji, shying back slightly but still looking at him with genuine curiosity. 

"My son. Akira, this is Souji. He's a wonderful boy who's staying in town with his uncle Dojima. You know, the nice detective that papa is working with," Jun says gently and Akira slips past Souji, eyeing him carefully. "He's a bit shy, never quite learned how to trust people after his real parents... well, anyway," Jun brushes the topic to the side while Akira clings to him. 

Akira isn't as cautious around Souji as he usually is about strangers. In fact, he seems more hesitantly intrigued than anything. 

Souji nods and smiles. "Of course. I'll make sure to come by."

It's a promise he ends up keeping. 

 

_**XX, XX, 2010** _

Jun and Tatsuya had to leave town for a couple of days so Souji agrees to take care of the flower shop as well as Akira. Dojima doesn't mind Akira staying with the silver-haired boy since it isn't even a full week and Nanako quickly comes to adore Akira. Of course, having to take care of the flower shop means an entire week is snipped right from his schedule. Jun tries to tell Souji not to worry too much. He doesn't need to keep the shop open (the pair are still well off thanks to the many patents that Jun owns), he just needs to keep an eye on the flowers.

Souji is still Souji though. That's how the Investigation Team ends up sitting in the flower shop instead of the Junes food court while they shoot ideas back and forth about whodunit. Akira is perfectly content to ignore them, curled up on the floor none the wiser as long as they don't talk about certain details. 

Of course, Akira would endear himself to the Investigation Team the same way that Nanako did once she met them all. 

Their party has grown to 8 and they just have one final question to answer. 

Souji leans against the counter which Yosuke is currently sitting on, his head leaning against the brunet's side in a way that's just a little more affectionate than 'best friend'. Yosuke's cheeks are stained crimson but he doesn't complain. The rest of the team are grinning at them though which makes Yosuke squirm slightly. He is the most hesitant out of everyone, especially with all those nasty internalized ideals. He couldn't even blame his parents. They were thoughts and ideas that he'd picked up from other city kids and tourists. Mostly tourists. 

Rural Inaba frankly couldn't care less, the same way they stopped caring about Jun and Tatsuya a week into the pair arriving. In Souji's words, Jun is still an icon. Jun also might have been enlisted as an aid during the cross-dressing competition. He actually made Yosuke and Souji look good, much to Chie's chagrin. 

Rise was a bit pouty over the relationship at first but she got over it quick enough when Naoto and Kanji proved themselves a good substitute/distraction and it wasn't a week later before she did a 180 into shipping it. In her own words, 'the two just matched too much, it would be a shame to try and ruin it'. How deep her involvement with the romantic aspects of the pair went was... up for debate. 

The only reason Chie wasn't teasing Yosuke that very second was because Yukiko's hands were twined with her own and the head on her shoulder proved a good distraction while they leaned against a bucket of long-stemmed flowers that Yosuke didn't know the name of but Souji probably did. If Souji didn't know then Akira definitely did. Akira who for only being 10 had somehow memorized the name, meaning, appearance, and scientific name of every flower currently in stock. 

"I know we can just keep saving anyone who falls in, but it's still worrying no knowing who did it," Yukiko breaks the gentle silence to voice the anxiety that everyone is feeling. The group agrees and continues trying to figure out some kind of answer. 

Any kind of answer.

All in due time, their Wildcard supposes. 


	3. Chapter 3

**_ XX, XX, 2011 _ **

"I can't believe you have to leave already. Izanami ruined your last day here too! So unfair," Yosuke pouts like a child but only because he already misses the feeling of Souji's hand twined with his own, the latter having had to pry away from the brunet's grip because the train would be there soon. 

Izanami had been a creature of the Id, much like the crawling chaos she had become blinded by the subconscious desires of humanity without having the ability to see the full picture that was at stake. She talked and acted like she was granting the wish of humankind, but human beings are too complex for things to be that simple. Perhaps the Id desired to be blind, but there was so much more to a person. Souji would carve open the truth and use it to paint a future that he could be proud of.

"I promise that I'll be back for Golden Week," he said with a nervous laugh as he looked at the disappointed expressions of his friends. Friends. The word almost felt foreign. Bonds and little red strings, things he never thought he'd have. He was a piece in something greater, another will to force fate in the direction that he and those like him chose to push her. That was what he would never allow himself to forget. The truth he'd come to learn. 

"Damn right you will be! If you don't, Nanako-chan's gonna cry," Kanji smiled despite the flicker of sadness in his gaze.

After Souji left it would be Naoto's turn as she returned back to the life of a detective and took up her next case. She'd struggled with her own identity for a while, but it finally seemed she was comfortable with who she was. Her problem was never really her gender or her age, it was how those factors affected the way others treated her. She'd finally learned to stop giving a damn though because young or female her skills really spoke for themselves! She'd return to the world of detectives with new vigor. 

After Naoto, it would probably be Rise's turn to move on. She couldn't stay in Inaba much longer, Souji could see it in her eyes. She was itching to get back out into the idol world and really show off her own new found confidence as a person instead of an object. She was going to be herself, all her many pieces, and with confidence like that, she was going to take Japan by storm.

It would be hard for the rest. Everyone else would be staying here in Inaba, including Teddie who was being officially and legally adopted by the Hanamura's. Getting him legal paperwork that he, you know, actually existed was a bit of a problem because he was a sentient shadow with no documents. Yosuke's parents didn't quite understand why but they were good people and were more than happy to officially make Ted a part of the family when Yosuke told them that Ted didn't actually have a family. Hopefully, those two would keep each other in high spirits with part of the team missing, they were good brothers.

Chie and Yukiko could, of course, focus on each other as a distraction, but Kanji seemed pretty damn eaten up about the situation with both Naoto and Rise eventually having to leave after Souji. Such was the way of life, he supposed, it couldn't be helped. 

The silver-haired boy cleared his throat and put on his leader voice for a moment. "Though distances vast and small may come between us, the bonds we have forged together shall withstand all tests of time, space, and mortality. The friendships we've made with one another will last us a lifetime and then some because they're friendships we made through hardship. In our best of times and in our worst of times we were there for one another. Such as it is and such as it always will be. That is our truth, so let's all continue to move forward and make the world a better place." 

Souji's timing was impeccable to the point of impressive because the train pulled up the second the last syllable of his speech was ending. Rise actually clapped, making a small note of the showmanship. Both actors and faceless in their own rights, that was perhaps what left Rise looking up to Souji and adoring him so much. 

The group bid their goodbyes knowing that it wasn't goodbye forever. With gentle smiles and shimmery eyes, they knew more adventures awaited them. Perhaps a little too soon if you asked when Golden Week came around.

 

_**XX, XX, 2011** _

After the mess that was Souji's next visit, any member of the Investigation Team would describe anything associated with the word 'tournament' as a pain. Especially Souji who was forcibly introduced to 'hurricane Elizabeth' or as she was later known as, 'Margaret's sister'. Neither of these titles properly defined the amount of pain Souji found himself in after he fought her and her Persona, the physical manifestation of death in Shadow form whose existence was jarringly similar to Teddie. 

It wasn't until the second P-1 Grand Prix that the Investigation Team 'officially' became an off branch of the Shadow Operatives and was introduced to the 3 teams who preceded them. At which point Souji's jaw almost hit the floor. 

"You were a Persona user the whole time?" The question came out half accusation and half befuddled shock and Jun just laughed. 

"But of course. You are a Champion of Philemon, correct? I believe you call yourselves Wildcards? In my own group, we all possess the ability to change Personas and enter the Velvet Room because we were handpicked by Philemon. Your teams are a bit weaker because you were picked by Igor, but there's an unmistakable pull of fate between us Champions. I figured we could keep an eye on you," the man says as though it's the most natural thing in the world and perhaps to someone who's been a Persona user since 17 and is now nearing their 30's it is entirely natural. 

The Investigation Team decided if they were going to be a proper auxiliary branch then they'd need to meet the other teams. Considering Marie's involvement with the whole Izanami incident and the insight she could provide regarding Nyx, they decided it might also be best to bring her along. So now the 8 members and the 9th in spirit members sit across from Persona users varying between two years older than them and some Persona Users who are way their senior. 

Souji is admittedly glad that the older two groups weren't a part of the P-1 Grand Prix. 

"So. The Shadow Operatives pretty much keep an eye on shadow related stuff, right? Did you guys have to all face your shadows?" Chie is the one to break the question and the other groups glance at one another. 

"The first group and second group have varying answers," Mitsuru starts, placing her words carefully. "Some of them did while others didn't, and most of them were able to use their Persona prior to facing a shadow or even had their persona during their battles with their shadows. it seems as though each group ends up with different rules depending on the 'game' that each antagonistic god decides to play. As for S.E.E.S, the only one of us who ever faced their shadow is Aigis who inherited the power of the Wildcard after our field leaders... met unfortunate circumstance." 

Elizabeth who has decided to stick around for this decides to speak up and explain. "My guests were given the impossible challenge of defeating the goddess Nyx. She couldn't be bested by normal means and as long as Erebus existed to wake her up, she would initiate the death of all humankind. My guests used their lifeforce in order to create a seal of sorts to keep that from happening. One of our goals is to defeat Erebus or Nyx so that we may free them. Currently, their physical forms remain in comas existing somewhere between life and death, but we can't return them to this world until the situation has been dealt with." 

Souji turns his attention away from the sentient hurricane and towards Marie. "You're a god yourself, do you think there's anything you might be able to do?" He asks. It's a bit of a long shot but he sees a flicker in Marie's gaze. A kind of resolution and after taking a moment to contemplate her words she nods with a grin.

"It won't be immediate, but if we can weaken Erebus enough I might be able to create a way to seal him in Yomi. More people believe in my existence and I am older, so while we'll need to work towards weakening him a lot and it's going to take me a while to create a strong enough containment area, it should be possible with 6 or 7 years at most. Less depending on how things go," she says and the eyes of S.E.E.S visibly light up. 

"Really!? Aw man, we're gonna get our leader back guys! Okay, now we really gotta up the effort. We have 7 years or less to tear down humanity's desire for death, let's make every minute count!" Junpei is exuding excitement. The members of the team all know what it's like to lose someone important to them, but finally, they have the chance to defy fate and bring two people important to them back. That is the true power of bonds, the true power of Philemon's Champions. 

Naoya smiles silently to himself, watching the scene unfold while he maintained his silence. It was beautiful in a way, watching so many people rebel against the hands of fate and actually come away victorious. 

 

_**XX, XX, 2011** _

It's the random twists of fate that still somehow manage to take even Naoya off guard. He kneels before the 11-year-old and a couple of things can't help but run through his mind. He tries to silence his thoughts though and focus on what's most important right now. "What's your name," he says in the most gentle tone he can muster. 

"Goro Akechi, sir," the boy replies only meeting his eyes because it's the polite thing to do. The moment it's no longer what's expected of him, his gaze darts downwards towards his shoes. He's scared, and according to the orphanage staff, his mother committed suicide just last year. 

Goro Akechi is 11 and Naoya can see the butterfly pattern practically scorched across his chest despite the layers of cloth covering it. It's battered and broken like this child is going to experience a terrible fate and the thing that scares him is that the butterfly past all of its mangled appearance seems to have the same vibrant red and black color scheming as Akira's mark. Naoya feels his heart sinking into his stomach as the child shuffles awkwardly. He tries to remain polite but Naoya knows fear when he sees it.

Naoya has been working charities for years. He likes to be hands-on and his wife has no problems with that. They take turns taking care of their wonderful daughter and when neither of them has the time they've got tons of 'aunties' or 'uncles' to drop her off with. Maya with her team mom nature is also the team aunt and all of her friend's children are also her children. Naoya is fine with that as long as those children are kept far away from aunt Yukino who teaches them knife tricks 'on the off chance they end up in a demon-infested school'. 

Naoya continues to inspect the butterfly, knowing damn well that its appearance implies that Goro's fate is a dark one. Far worse than Minato and Minako's if no one intervenes. The thing that scares him the most is the color outlining the butterfly. So far he has seen gold and blue, colors associated with Philemon and Igor. This color is blue, much like the one that represents Igor, but it's an off kind of blue that sets Naoya on edge and tells him that something is very very wrong. 

Imposter, the color screams with its sickly tone, imposter. 

He's watched butterflies change over time as fate is altered. To his absolute joy, he got to watch the half butterflies on the twin's skin slowly turn into full butterflies, and the damage marring their wings get repaired. They're still in 'comas' but fate has given them a chance. Akira's own butterfly was a lot more battered when Jun and Tatsuya first adopted him but has since become very strong. There are a couple of other examples he can list, but it doesn't matter right now because there is a child who looks like fate is telling him to die. 

Eriko is going to be getting a new partnership in the next couple of months. Because of that Naoya was going to be taking a break and focusing more on the management half of charity work while he took care of his baby girl. He figured he wouldn't have much issue living in Inaba. A place actually opened up next to Jun and Tatsuya that he has his eye on. He's comfortable. Comfortable enough that... maybe his family could fit one more. 

He's stepping away from Goro and dialing Eriko before he gives himself time to second guess the decision. He never expected to adopt. He only ever really wanted one kid and he's gotten that one kid. He wouldn't mind another, but he didn't want to make Eriko put her career on pause again since 'pregnant' isn't the best look for a model. 

This isn't the worst idea that he's had and when he glances at Goro who's retreated back into himself he feels his heartbreak. 

"Hey honey, there's a kid here that could really use help." It doesn't take more than that to convince Eriko. 

He learns that the child is a bastard. This doesn't really mean much to Naoya, but it means too much to other people. The people running the orphanage say it with disdain and Naoya has a terrible feeling that his home won't be the first, second, or even third that this child has been tossed into. Hopefully, it will be the last. 

Adoption papers are practically thrown at him, and he quietly thinks to himself that maybe he should start looking into legal practices. These kids have terrible living conditions and while his charity work can do a lot, it can only do so much without the system being forced to change. 

When he goes to Inaba after finally getting in touch with the person selling that one house and finalizing the deal, he has two children in tow instead of one. 

 

_**XX, XX, 2012** _

A little thump, thump, thump echoes against the door and Naoya opens it. Sparkly grey eyes peer through a shaggy black mess of hair as the little boy looks up at Naoya. "Can Goro watch the idol show with me?" Akira asks hesitantly, his eyes glinting happily behind the frames of glasses. The glasses themselves were hand made by Teddie and they fit Akira's face almost a little too well.

Naoya opens the door and allows the small boy to come in. Goro is already sitting on the ground, curled up in front of a TV. He was hesitant for weeks, months after even, but eventually, he starts to open up a little after realizing that the smallest mistake wasn't going to get him thrown out the door. Naoya was never good with kids, really, but Jun lives next door and Jun turned out to really be a miracle worker when it came to 'small, young, and very damage', a category that both Akira and Goro fit into.

Speaking of said children, Akira was the first thing that Goro ended up clinging to. It took three days for Akira to break the other boy's shell but once it happened they were joined at the hip. Akira's usual shyness had slowly been decreasing over the years, but it wasn't even present when he was trying to befriend the other boy. Quite the contrary, Akira had been brave and charming and forced his way through the cracks in Goro's walls. 

Akira instantly wiggled in beside Goro and turned his attention to "the idol show" much like every other person currently associated with the Shadow Operatives was. The reason for that was a bit... Naoya wasn't even sure what to say about the situation at this point. Rise had contacted the rest of the Investigation Team to help her with her comeback show. A quick email to the rest of the Shadow Operatives had alerted them to the Midnight Stage which was a mess and a half. 

Many members were planning to watch anyway. There was, of course, the Investigation Team participating but Hidehiko's cousin was also a member of one of the more popular Idol groups participating in the show. So Naoya was also stuck watching as everything came slowly crashing down. The end of the show found itself in a very rare position where the normal world and the Midnight Stage clashed. Ultimately it was just strange enough that the cameras continued working.

Which meant that a group of very stupid 17-year-olds got caught summon their Personas on live TV moments before an entire audience disappeared... 

Everyone just thought it was stunning special effects when the show was over, likely thanks to the empress like producer behind the scenes. Naoya didn't know what his life had turned into anymore. 

The smart members of the team like Kei or Yuka can figure out what the heck is happening on the TV screen right now. It's too much chaos for him to make sense of. Fighting and beating shadows through dancing, absolute madness! Naoya is just going to focus on Goro and the way that the butterfly painted on his chest has started to slowly look healthier and healthier, the pale glow surrounding it looking closer to the blue glow surrounding Akira's own butterfly. 

He knows he did the right thing as the boys whisper back and forth between one another, laughing at a joke only meant to be shared between the two of them. 

They aren't quite like Tatsuya and Jun. Naoya doesn't think they're going to fall in love or anything, but they are best friends and young enough they could still be classified as childhood best friends if they end up sticking together. Naoya has no doubt that they will. 

Both boys are suddenly squealing without warning and Naoya looks up only to find Souji kissing Yosuke on his TV screen in the background of the final act. They're supposed to be background dances, and the rest of the Investigation Team are doing their jobs, but Souji has no shame. Naoya shakes his head and sighs. These are going to be some pretty wild children if these are their role models and older sibling figures...

 

**_ XX, XX, 2014 _ **

For a good couple of years, everyone is a big happy family. Get-togethers are held in Inaba, rooms being rented out at the Amagi Inn weeks or months in advance. Everyone gets together and it's happy. Persona users new and old swap stories, keep up their training regimens and talk about what they've been getting up to. They jokingly try to out-boast each other which becomes harder and harder for Naoya to keep up with considering he's one of the few 'normal' people surrounded by swaths of famous people. Even trying to attach normal to his name was a stretch. 

Even the younger Persona users, the Investigation Team, have found things to be well known about. Souji is trying to go into politics. Yosuke got a really big music gig thanks to Rise and the Kitchen girls and now he's composing for famous idols. He makes good money which he uses to support himself and Souji while they go through college. Souji does part-time jobs of course but compared to Yosuke's paycheck it kind of a joke and just a way to protect his pride till he gets his degree and has an actual job.

Chie is speeding through the police academy thanks to Akihiko and Tatsuya's special training. Yukiko is a little sad they don't get to see each other more often since she has to run the inn. She seems to enjoy it and has gotten good at it though, she's even gotten (mildly) better at cooking. And by mildly Naoya at least her food is now edible. 

Kanji's claim to fame is a shock and yet entirely expected. It was fully accidental on his part, which makes it even better. Out of sheer boredom he'd stitched together some nice looking clothes. He likes to make things considering he lives in a textile shop and sometimes he'd sell those things. One day Teddie, who'd scored a modeling gig thanks to the whole Rise situation, bought those clothes.

That is the story of how Kanji accidentally became a well-known fashion designer in under a year. He's not sure if he should thank or absolutely hate Teddie since Kanji suffers in the limelight, but he enjoys being able to make the clothes and establish the Tatsumi brand. It does let him take care of his mother after all.

Teddie to no one's shock became a model as soon as the public was aware of how pretty he is. What is a shock was how he went about modeling. He models both men and women's clothing, taking a page out of Jun's book. He's just as much of an icon for younger generations, dressing however he pleases and looking stunning regardless. 

Naoto and Rise were pretty much the same as always, except their influence had grown more powerful. Rise was stepping into the world of movies with the help of some of the older Persona users and she was positively thriving thanks to it while still maintaining a vice grip as the top idol in Japan. Naoto was still a famous detective, but her title had gone from Prince to Queen and people were practically eating it up.

It was still gendered, but Queen elicited a sense of power that having her title change into princess definitely wouldn't have. She was admittedly a bit worried about that but people had jumped from Prince to Queen very easily with a few well-placed rumors of Baofu's site. 

Even with everyone living their own lives, they all return to Inaba in order to keep each other in the loop. As well as to dote on the children. Nanako, Akira, and Goro were possibly the most spoiled children in the country at this point and all three absolutely loved it. 

They could bat their eyes and have the world. They'd have their challenges to face of course. It was only a matter of time before Goro and Akira's journey properly kicked off, and knowing fate it would try to make the pair suffer. So they should enjoy the pampering while they still had the chance. 

For now, everything was good, and that was all that mattered.

 

_**XX, XX, 2015** _

Things first started going downhill in early 2015. Goro loved his new family. His parents, his younger sister, and especially boy the who lived next door who was his absolute best friend. But there was always a nagging in the back of her mind. The prodding fingers of fate trying to drive him down his destined path of ruin. 

It placed thoughts in his head of the father who abandoned his birth mother and caused her to commit suicide. The father who made him into a bastard. Shido. Goro felt compelled to meet this man and tear him down to the ground right where he belonged to be. 

So he ran away and somehow managed to find himself with power over a Persona. Now. Goro was a smart child, but the pieces didn't immediately click for him like they really should have. Blinded by desire, he didn't think about those happy memories that really would have pointed him towards thinking about his adopted family in the same breath as his new Persona. Instead, he approached Shido with a deal. he would use his power to drive Shido's opponents mad and he would get the perfect foothold to play executioner against his father. 

"Can you only do sabotage, or can you kill?" Was Shido's first question and Goro felt his throat tighten.

Yes, the voice in the back of his mind supplied. He didn't know why he knew, but he did know that if he killed someone's Shadow that they would die, completely shut down for good. 

He was supposed to say yes. He was supposed to say yes. But the moment he tried his throat closed up. When he closed his eyes and thought about his answer he could see warm quicksilver eyes looking at him from behind mess black bangs. He could hear his first mother and his second mother's voices, each humming different melodies. He could feel the hand of the father that raised him. He could feel his younger sister pushing a stuffed animal into his palms in a silent plea for him to play with her. 

"No. I can drive them mad and cause comas though. I don't know how long the comas should last, though I can just keep doing it if need be," the boy answered instead. He could feel Shido's disapproval, but he couldn't bring himself to say yes. He would cause people to go insane, he would force people into comas, but he couldn't bring himself to kill. Those first two could be erased with time, the actions of the insane brushed off once it became well know that it was Shido's plot once he was dead. The second one could be ended as soon as Shido was done with as well. 

People could be brought out of comas, but the dead couldn't be brought back to life. That's what he told himself as he swallowed down the idea of becoming Shido's perfect servant to get close to him faster. The reason he was doing this was for justice. Because Shido was a terrible man who wronged him and would likely wrong the country as well. He needed to be brought to justice even if Goro had to place his own head on the chopping block beside Shido's. That being said, he refused to lower himself to Shido's level.

He just... he couldn't. Each time he thought about it quicksilver eyes peered at him whenever he closes his own, piercing him and looking right down into the confines of his soul. If only he'd met Akira a couple of years later, maybe he'd be able to lower himself to that level, but as the situation stood he just couldn't bear the thought.

Couldn't bear the imminent disappointment if Goro dropped himself so far down.

That was still okay though. Even if he couldn't kill, there were other things he could do, and for Shido, that would be enough to give the boy the window he needed. 

 

_**XX, XX, 2015** _

It's the end of 2015, close to December when things really kick off. Tatsuya calls Naoya sometime near midnight and the first words out of his mouth are simple and Naoya already understands. "I think his journey his starting. I'm scared, but there's nothing I can do, and he's in a bad spot." Tatsuya hangs up and Naoya actually comes next door. 

Jun is pacing, Akira is sitting at the dinner table looking distraught. There's an arm around his shoulders, it's Tatsuya's arm, and it's shaking. 

"He got arrested. He was trying to defend a woman from getting raped. She's decided to make a statement against Akira," Jun's hands are shaking and Naoya places a firm hand on Jun's shoulder. He glances towards Akira and all three of them know it's time. It hurts and they're all scared and they know that Akira is scared but he's 16 and it's probably time. For life. For truth. For freedom. Deep down, Naoya knows he's going to be fine. 

"I frequent a cafe in Tokyo who's owner might be convinced to let him stay and attend school there if we can get him parole," Naoya starts. He trails off after a minute before looking towards Akira. "You might be able to continue going to a school at a place called Shujin academy. I know it's not ideal, not in the slightest, but we don't have many options right now if she's going to testify against you in court."

For Akira's part in the whole situation, he's very understanding. He smiles sadly at his father's, nodding because he knows there are no other options and anything is better than becoming a high school drop out with a criminal record. 

He's gone before Tatsuya and Jun really have time to come to terms with the fact. 

Naoya leaves Akira with one last warning that won't make any sense yet but he's sure it will soon enough. "I'm pretty sure something is wrong with Igor. Make sure you don't trust him until he gives you a good reason to." The warning is gibberish to Akira for the time being but he nods quietly, trusting Naoya without question. No one has been able to access the Velvet Room in weeks so something is absolutely wrong. Naoya can only hope for the best now. 

 

_**XX, XX, 2016** _

The phrase 'don't trust Igor' probably keeps Akira both alive and sane when it comes to the constant assault from the demon lolis who look like Elizabeth but certainly don't act like Elizabeth. Ever the wonderful and loyal sentient hurricane, Elizabeth had somehow managed to earn babysitting rights once or twice through Akira's childhood. She might be off in a bubbly kind of way, but the twins are outright malicious and Akira really doesn't trust that. Igor also gives him chills. 

The second things that keep him sane is Goro, who he stumbles across and enlists very early on. The first time they cross paths after so long is heartbreaking in a lot of ways, but hopeful in more.

The Phantom Thieve don't trust him, but Akira does. This Goro isn't the Goro that fate tried to create. He isn't backstabbing, he knows and adores his best friend. That's why he plays the role of the informant when they finally start to get their bearing in later palaces. 

He's caused quite a few comas and incidents, but nothing that can't be fixed. He gives Futaba his sincere apologies when the two meet and he gives Haru advanced warning for what needs to be done. Considering the alternatives are honest to god assassinations, the girls don't fault him too terribly much. 

It's a little rough, a little bumpy, but the ending is better than it should have been when Akira pulls a handgun and shoots god in the face. There'll be more challenges later. There's still Erebus to eventually face and Akira needs to introduce his new friends to the Shadow Opritives. But for now? Fate is dancing to their collective tune, and things are good. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be writing a lot more for this collection, from fluffy oneshots detailing various friendships and relationships to most likely a full-length story regarding the Persona 5 crew.


End file.
